This writing course about bringing characters to life takes place at Writing NSW.

Living, breathing characters are the key to successful fiction: the best plots emerge from characters’ actions and choices, and without compelling, believable characters it can be hard to make readers care what happens next in your story.

Is this course right for you? Read our FAQ >

In this workshop with author Kirsten Tranter, we will discover ways to fully imagine your characters and bring them to life through dialogue, action and interaction with other characters and their environments. Characters do not need to be “likeable” in order to engage a reader’s attention, but they must be complex and convincing enough to make their conflicts matter to us.

We will read examples of writing by published authors who have created strong, memorable characters, analyze their craft, and put key principles into practice in a series of writing and revision exercises designed to develop character in tandem with plot, dialogue, and description.

Expected learning outcomes

Participants will:

1. Deepen their understanding what makes a character compelling, complex and believable
2. Explore the importance of conflict for building character
3. Learn to analyse how authors create compelling characters
4. Create new characters and put them into action in writing
5. Practice revision strategies that build on existing strengths.

Participant requirements

Pen and paper, or a fully charged device. Please read our FAQ before enrolling.

If you have questions about this course, please contact us.

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